Grocery Shopping

Since moving to Setagaya-ku in Tokyo, Brad and I have tried to find a good grocery store that we can use regularly. There is a really expensive grocery store down the street with high end, international food. This can be fun occasionally, but we can't afford to shop there often. Then, there are smaller shops that each specialize in certain foods like fish, produce, baked goods, etc. There is one store that we have gone to several times and have thoroughly enjoyed each experience.

The man who is usually working behind the counter clearly loves being there. He seems to value his job and love the food that is sold there. (If any of you have seen the movie Amelie you might recall the grocery boy that softly spoke to the produce he sold. His behavior is comparable to what I am about to describe.) Rather than silently taking the items, throwing them in a bag, taking my money and saying goodbye, this particular grocer takes a different approach. He takes each item out of the basket, saying its name and gently placing it in the grocery bag. Without fail, he rearranges the produce in the grocery bag to ensure nothing gets bruised. Again, with great care, he hands over the grocery bag, trying not to jostle anything too much, and I am on my way home.

It is a much more fulfilling experience to go to these small stores rather than the large, over-commercialized grocery stores where you don't have time to appreciate the nuances the culture has to offer.